The Tories dismiss them as 'cranks and gadflies', but, in the 2004 European election, the UK Independence Party (UKIP) won 2,650,768 votes, 16.1 per cent of the total. From its inception as an obscure academic pressure group in 1991, UKIP has risen to be a major power in the land, yet little is known of its origins or its history. Cranks and Gadflies: The Story of UKIP is the first comprehensive and authoritative account of the rise of Britain's fourth political party. With pace and panache, the thriller-writer Mark Daniel describes UKIP's never-ending leadership battles - culminating in the drama of the Kilroy putsch of 2004 - whilst vividly evoking the ethos of its rank-and-file members, whose stamina and enthusiasm have sustained the momentum of the UK's fastest-growing political movement.